You are joking? Right?
No I’m not. He’s won over the hearts and minds of people who already believe everything that he’s preaching. He’s swayed exactly no one to the conservative side of the fence. Epic fail. If his tactics don’t amount to votes gained in the end then it’s meaningless. Everyone can sit around and have their circle-jerks, and frame that Time magazine cover, but he is alienating more of the center then he is winning them over.
And if this doesn’t mean that more conservatives get elected (which I don’t believe it does) then I’m not on board. And again, I’m the biggest fan of Olbermann one could ever be. Why? Because he’s fringey enough to make the left look like utter crackpots. There’s the rub. Beck, with all the crying and preaching, comes off to most of the center like Rev. Wrong came off to most of the center. Like a polarizing nutcase who won’t sway anyone, but merely reinforce minds that are already made.
Give me Bill O’ any day of the week over Beck. At least he’s smart enough to try to sway an audience that hasn’t already made up it’s mind. In the end, do you want to be right, or do you want to win seats? I could give a damn what Beck’s message is if it doesn’t reach the right audience, and that’s the one we have to win over to gain ground.